Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Vol 9(30), DOI: 10.

17485/ijst/2016/v9i30/99195, August 2016

ISSN (Print) : 0974-6846

ISSN (Online) : 0974-5645

Design of Low Cost Open Circuit Wind Tunnel

A Case Study
Mahesh K. Panda* and Amiya K. Samanta
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Durgapur - 713209, West Bengal, India;
mahesh26119@gmail.com, aksnitd@gmail.com

Abstract
Objectives: This paper elucidate the entire procedure to design an open circuit subsonic wind tunnel which will be used
to study the wind effect on the different prototypes of structural elements. Method: The existing guidelines and findings
of the previous research works were followed for design calculation of different parts of the wind tunnel. Three design
trials have been performed so as to achieve a velocity of 25 m/s at the test section. The final trial has been discussed in
the body of the paper. Findings: The design includes a square test section of side 500 mm, to accommodate the model
and required instrumentation in it, for force and pressure measurement. A straight section before the test chamber is
provided to allow the output of contraction section to stabilize before it reaches the test section. Instead of using a curved
wall shape a straight contraction profile with larger contraction length is used. The diffuser extends from the test section
and its cross section changes from a square test section to an octagon of 311 mm side. The pressure drop and power
required for the designed wind tunnel are calculated and tunnel performance curve is plotted. Application: The design
being purely empirical, it requires computational validation before commencement of the construction of the wind tunnel.
The investigators have actually made an attempt to design the same in the existing setup, which may be useful for different
research purpose.

1.

Keywords: Design of Open Circuit Wind Tunnel, Loss in Contraction Section, Power Requirement, Pressure Drop in
Diffuser, Stilting Section, Tunnel Performance Curve

Introduction

The wind tunnel is a tool to study fluid flows around a

body and the forces generated by the fluid-structure
interaction. Using such tool, it is possible to measure
global and local flow velocities, as well as pressure and
temperature around the body. A wind tunnel experiment
provides the force and pressure values on the model
and the flow visualization. It is a critical instrument in
the quick and thorough design process of anything that
involves fluid dynamics. Based on the flow through the
tunnel circuit, the wind tunnel is of two types, open
type and closed type. In open type, ambient air enters
from one side and exits to the atmosphere after flowing
through the tunnel. In closed type wind tunnel, a constant

* Author for correspondence

volume of air is allowed to pass through the tunnel circuit

continuously Figure 1.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing different parts of

wind tunnel.

Design of Low Cost Open Circuit Wind Tunnel A Case Study

2. Design Methodology
The open circuit wind tunnel is made of several distinct
sections, the settling chamber, the contraction cone, the
test section, the diffuser and the fan. Different parts are
described as follows:

2.1 Test Section

The wind tunnel design starts with deciding the test

section keeping an eye on the accessibility and installation
of the test model and instrumentation. From the
experimental investigations, it has been found that the
blockage has an almost negligible effect on test results
when it is about 10%2. The test chamber length has to be
in the range of 0.5-3 times its hydraulic diameter3,4. The
test chamber is being designed to test the scaled model
of a silo with length 250 mm and minimum L/D ratio 1.
In order to have a blockage ratio less than 10% a square
test chamber of 500 mm side is chosen Figure 2. The test
will be carried out at a flow speed of 25 m/s. The pressure
loss coefficient goes on increasing with increase in the test
section Figure 3. So the length of test section should be as
small as possible. The length of the test chamber was set
to 1.25 m i.e. 2.215 times the hydraulic diameter of the
test section.

Vol 9 (30) | August 2016 | www.indjst.org

Figure 2. Test section.

2.2 Contraction Cone

The contraction accelerates the flow to the test section,

further reducing any variations in velocity. A contraction
design satisfying all criteria will be such that the separation
is just avoided and the exit non-uniformity is equal to or
less than the maximum tolerable level for the desired
application in shortest possible length5. The contraction
starts with the selection of contraction ratio6. For smaller
tunnels the contraction ratio should be in between 6 to 9.
The length of the contraction should be in between 0.15 R
to R. R being the hydraulic radius of the contraction section
inlet. Too large contraction section avoids flow separation7.
As shown in Figure 4, the pressure drop coefficient values
go on decreasing with increase in CR, so the maximum
allowable contraction ratio 9 is chosen. To avoid flow
separation, a contraction of length of 900 mm is used, which
is 20% longer than the maximum recommended value. For
easier and cheaper construction a straight contraction shape
is used instead of solving complex equations to get the wall
shape. The nozzle exit cross section dimensions and shape
are identical to the test chamber.
0.06

Pressure drop coefficent

The main goal of wind tunnel design is to have

uniform flow within the test chamber. Test chamber
dimension depends on the type of test to be performed
and the size of the model to be tested. The wind tunnels
overall dimensions are key factors in its construction
and running costs. The trade-off is required between
the opposing needs to get a suitable design of the wind
tunnel, satisfying the test requirements, space and budget
constraints1. The design process starts by defining the test
chamber dimensions and shape, after that the rest part of the
wind tunnel is designed by keeping in view the dimensions
of the test chamber.
Principal parts of an open type wind tunnel are the test
section, contraction, diffuser, settling chamber and driving
unit (Fan). This paper deals with the design of an open type
wind tunnel to have minimum construction cost and the
running cost.

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01
250

500

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

Length of test section (mm)

Figure 3. Plot to show the pressure loss in a constant area

section.

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Mahesh K. Panda and Amiya K. Samanta

Loss coefficient

0.0048

Loss coefficient

0.0046
0.0044
0.0042
0.0040
0.0038
0.0036
0.0034
0.0032
0.0030
5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 10.0 10.5 11.0

Contraction Ratio

Where, Dh1 is the inlet sections hydraulic diameter

and
is the half of the included angle of the diffuser
cone.
Assuming minimum diffusion angle (e) i.e. 50 and
solving for L, the maximum of the minimum length of
the diffuser is found to be 2.38 m, hence a diffuser of 2.5
m length is provided. An octagonal outlet is chosen with
side 310 mm Figure 6. The diffuser area ratio is calculated
as 1.86, which falls in the no stall region in Figure 7 with
a diffusion angle 5.030.

Figure 4. Contraction section pressure loss coefficient with

contraction ratio.

2.3 Straight Section

Inserting a small settling duct before the test section can

reduce the turbulence level to an acceptable level, for nonstreamlined shape of contraction wall8. A straight section
of length 0.5 m has been inserted after the contraction,
with an area of cross section equal to the testing chamber
size. Figure 5 shows the straight section attached to the
contraction cone.
Figure 6. A diagram showing the diffuser.

2.5 Settling Chamber

Figure 5. A diagram showing the contraction cone with a

straight section.

2.4 Diffuser

The diffuser is mainly used to reduce the velocity of flow

in the shortest possible distance to reduce the load on
drive system. The flow through the diffuser depends on its
geometry defined by area ratio (ratio of outlet area to the
inlet area) and diffuser angle (2), wall contour and
diffuser cross-sectional shapes. The area ratio of the
diffuser should be less than 2.5 and diffuser angle should
be 5 7 for controlling flow separation. The minimum
length of diffuser can be found from Equation,
.
(1)

Vol 9 (30) | August 2016 | www.indjst.org

The aim of a settling chamber containing honeycombs

and screens is to reduce the flow turbulence before it
enters the cone. A selection of honeycomb and screens
for a wind tunnel is very much dependent on the test
type to which the tunnel is intended8. The settling
chamber cross-sectional area matches the dimensions of
contraction cone inlet i.e. 1.5 m x 1.5 m with a length
equal to 1.25 m is used.

2.6 Honeycomb

The honeycomb removes the swirl from the incoming flow

and minimizes the variation in both mean and fluctuating
velocity9. It should have sufficient flexural rigidity to
withstand applied forces during operation without
significant deformation. The primary design parameter
for honeycomb is the ratio of length to cell hydraulic
diameter (L/D) and porosity (flow area upon total area).
Recommended L/D ratio for honeycomb is 6 to 8 with
porosity nearly 0.8. A square shaped honeycomb, 3 mm

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Design of Low Cost Open Circuit Wind Tunnel A Case Study

thick and 27 mm size and 150 mm length is provided with

a porosity value of 0.82. Figure 8 shows an arrangement of
Honeycomb and screens in settling chamber.

3.

Losses in Wind Tunnel Circuit

For loss calculation, the tunnel can be divided into

sections. The pressure loss in a tunnel section is defined
as the mean loss of total pressure sustained by the stream,
in passing through the particular section. The energy loss
of each section can be written in dimensionless form as
pressure drop coefficient

(2)
Where,

Figure 8. Diagram showing the arrangement of honeycomb

and screen.

2.7 Screens

Tensioned screens are placed in the settling chamber for

the reduction of turbulence level of incoming flow, this
breaks up the large scale turbulent eddies into a number of
small scale eddies that subsequently decay. To be effective
in reducing turbulence a screen must have porosity in the
range 0.580.89. Screen porosity values over 0.8 are not
suitable for good turbulence control while values below
0.58 lead to flow instability10. A clearance of 0.2 times
the settling chamber diameter is required between the
screens. Experimentally it is found that better turbulence
control can be achieved when the finest screen is placed
farthest downstream1113.
So a screen with 2 mm wire and porosity 0.69 is placed
at a distance 340 mm from the start of the contraction i.e.
0.2 times the hydraulic diameter of the settling chamber
and the 3 mm wire screen mesh with porosity 0.76 is
placed at the same distance from the first screen.

2.8 Drive System

The drive system compensates the loss in the circuit and

determines the movement of the fluid through the test
section. For an air tunnel, two primary drive systems are
a compressor and fan. In our case, an Axial fan will be
used as these are high efficient and produce air flow with
less turbulence. After the maximum required fan static
pressure and volume flow rate have been estimated the
makers performance chart can be consulted to choose a
fan with optimum efficiency, RPM and required power14.

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is test section dynamic pressure given as

(3)

The losses in different parts of wind tunnel can be

calculated as below:

3.1 Pressure Losses in Constant Area Sections

Considering a constant-area section (A), the pressure

loss (p) along the duct is proportional to its length (L),
hydraulic diameter (Dh), fluid density () and constant
of proportionality is the friction factor (f). The loss
coefficient is given by,
.

(4)
The friction loss coefficient can be determined by
using universal law of friction to determine the friction
factor in 4 to 6 iterations with an initial value of 1. In
Equation is given as:

(5)

3.2 Pressure Loss in Diffuser

Pressure loss in the diffuser is due to the skin friction

loss and the expansion loss. The main parameters are
equivalent conical expansion angle ( ) and the ratio
between inlet and outlet cross section areas (Ar). The
loss coefficient is the sum of the two loss factors, the
first relates to friction and the second to expansion
(6)
For one dimensional flow, the frictional loss coefficient is
given as

(7)
and the expansion loss is calculated by the empirical
relationship

(8)
The term
can be expressed as a geometrical
function depending upon the expansion angle and the
cross section shape of the diffuser. In our case
> 50,
so = A3+B3 , (9)
for circular section the values of A3 and B3 are -0.0966

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Mahesh K. Panda and Amiya K. Samanta

and 0.04672 respectively. For square section the values

of A3 and B3 are -0.0132 and 0.05866 respectively. Figure
9 shows the variation of pressure loss coefficient with area
ratio for different diffusion angle.

Figure 9. Plot showing the pressure drop for various

diffusion angle.

3.2 Contraction Section Loss

The pressure loss in contraction is due to skin friction.

The loss coefficient in the contraction is given by15:
(10)
Where, L0 is the length of contraction, D0 the test
section diameter, Di the inlet cone diameter, and f is
friction coefficient.

3.2 Stilting Section Loss

The losses in the settling chamber are primarily due to the

honeycomb and screens used for turbulence reduction.
The loss in the honeycomb can be calculated from the
formula

(11)

Where

(12)

The screen loss coefficient can be calculated

(13)

Vol 9 (30) | August 2016 | www.indjst.org

Is screen solidity and

is the screen porosity.
is the mesh factor equal to 1.0 for new metal wire
, 1.3 for average circular metal wire, and 2.1 fir silk thread
and kRn is given as

(14)
From the Equations it is clear that the pressure
drop through the honeycomb and the screen depends
only upon the characteristics of the same and becomes
constant when the Reynolds number values exceed some
critical value. Honeycomb loss depends on L/D ratio of
honeycomb and porosity while the pressure drop through
the screen is dependent on the type of wire and the
porosity.

4.

 ower required in Wind

P
Tunnel

Power required for maintaining a steady flow through the

wind tunnel is equal to the total losses occurring in the
flow through the tunnel. These losses are due to kinetic
energy being dissipated by vortices and turbulence. The
loss in kinetic energy, which appears as a decrease in total
pressure must be compensated by a pressure rise, usually
provided by a fan. Thus if the power input to the fan is P
(i.e. the motor shaft output) and the fan has an efficiency
the equation balancing the energy input to the stream to
the energy losses in the tunnel is

(15)
The required power for a given section size and flow
conditions depends on the sum of the pressure drop
coefficient (ki) in the individual tunnel sections. The
pressure loss equation for subsonic flow in wind tunnel is
given as

(16)
In the designed tunnel the various loss coefficient are
given in Table 1, for a speed of 25m/s at the test section.
Speed at fan section: = (25*0.5*0.5)/ (0.25*3.142*.75*.75)
= 14.144 m/s
The pressure loss in the tunnel circuit is equal to:
=(
) ki + loss at fan section
(17)
= 0.5*1.225*252 *1.3553 + 0.5*1.225*14.144*14.144
=641.36 Pa

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Design of Low Cost Open Circuit Wind Tunnel A Case Study

Table 1. Tunnel pressure loss coefficient at test section

velocity 25 m/s
Wind Tunnel Section
Honeycomb
Screen 1
Screen 2
Contraction
Straight section
Test Section
Diffuser
Total

Loss coefficient
0.2200
0.4117
0.6049
0.0037
0.149
0.372
0.0629
1.3553

The power required by the tunnel is equal to:

= Q * Pa = (A*V)* Pa
(18)
= (0.25*3.142*0.752*14.144)*641.36 = 4008.5 Watt
The power required for given flow in the wind tunnel
test section is calculated and the same is plotted as the
tunnel performance curve. Figure 10 shows the tunnel
performance curve for the designed wind tunnel. Fan
performance curves, which are supplied by the fan
manufactures, can be plotted on the tunnel performance
curve and the fan with maximum efficiency that intersects
the tunnel performance curve is to be chosen for use in
the tunnel.

Figure 10. Tunnel performance.

5. Conclusion
The fan/motor to be fitted in the tunnel should be chosen
conservatively to have desired flow velocity in the wind

Vol 9 (30) | August 2016 | www.indjst.org

tunnel test section to cater the unseen losses in the tunnel.

Further due to the purely empirical design of wind
tunnel, as per the guidelines of the previous researchers,
the design is required to be verified computationally as
well as experimentally. First the tunnel design is to be
tested for the desired flow quality and pressure loss in the
tunnel computationally through any high-end simulation
software (ABAQUS or ANSYS) if satisfactory results are
found then the wind tunnel can be built. Before carrying
out any experiment, the wind tunnel performance is to be
tested and calibrated.
To ensure good performance of the structures subjected
to wind loads, their behavior must be anticipated in
advance by the design engineer16. Model studies through
wind tunnel facilitate the same for the intended structure.
So it is a useful tool in wind engineering.

6. References
1. Cattafesta L, Bahr CJ, Mathew J. Fundamentals of wind
tunnel design. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering;
2010 Dec. p. 110.
2. Roy S, Saha UK. An adopted blockage factor correlation
approach in wind tunnel experiments of a Savonius-style
wind turbine. Energy Conversion and Management. 2014;
86(6):41827.
3. Arifuzzaman, MM. Design construction and performance
test of a low cost subsonic wind tunnel. IOSR Journal of
Engineering. 2012 Oct; 2(10):8392.
4. Barlow JB, Rae WH, Pope A. Low-speed wind tunnel testing. 3rd Ed. Wind Tunnel Design. United States of America:
John Willey and Sons Publ; 1999.
5. Abdalhamed AS, Yassen YEl-S, Elssaka MM. Design optimization of three dimensional geometry of wind tunnel
contraction. Ain Shams Engineering Journal. 2015 Mar;
6(1):2818.
6. Fang FM, Chen JC, Hong YT. Experimental and analytical
evaluation of flow in a square to square wind tunnel contraction. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. 2011 Mar; 89(3-4):24762.
7. Mehta RD, Bradshaw P. Design rules for small low speed
wind tunnels. The Aeronautical Journal. 1979 Nov;
83(827):4439.
8. Building a wind tunnel: It will blow your mind. 2008. Available from: http://www.tomcarlone.com/Wind TunnelProject/WindTunnelReport.pdf
9. Gharbanian K, Soltani MR, Manshadi D. Experimental
investigation on turbulence reduction in subsonic wind
tunnels. Aerospace Science and Technology. 2011 Mar;
15(2):13747.

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

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10. Mehta RD. Turbulent boundary layer perturbed by a screen.

AIAA Journal. 1985 Sep; 23(9):133542.
11. Quiterio PR, Velazquez MT, Eslava GT, Eslava RT, Florencio SS, Francis JA. Wind tunnel at LABINTHAP (Updated).
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 1988 May; 197:13955.
13. Gharbanian K, Soltani MR, Manshadi MD. Experimental
investigation on turbulence reduction in subsonic wind

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tunnels. Aerospace Science and Technology. 2011 Mar;

15(2):13747.
14. Bleier FP. Fan handbook: Selection application and design.
New York: McGraw Hills Publications; 1998.
15. D Space. 2016. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/DSpace
16. Kumar BD, Swami BLP. Wind effects on tall building
frames-influence of dynamic parameters. Indian Journal of
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Indian Journal of Science and Technology